Links to Websites with Free Files Useful for CNC Machines

This page contains a list of websites with files that are useful to the CNC Machine hobbyist. These sites contain free G-code, DXF, STL, and CamBam files, along with others. There are quite a few projects here, and you are bound to find something interesting.

This page will be updated periodically as I find more sites, so check back from time to time for more. The newest additions go at the top of the list.

Here is a Polish forum with several interesting designs that can be cut out with a CNC. A lot of them have pictures to go along with the files, so, if you’re like me and can’t read Polish, you can still figure out what they are.

Here is a link to a site that has several free plans that you might like to cut out with you CNC. These plans are technically designed to be cut out with a laser cutter, but you can still use them on a CNC. You can actually pay the people at the ponoko site to cut out the plans for you if you want. You can even have them cut out plans that you designed yourself.

The free plans that I have looked at on this site were all either in .eps or .svg. You can convert the .svg files to .dxf files by opening them in Inkscape (which is free to download and use) and then saving the .svg as a .dxf. The .eps files I’m not sure about. You will have to search the net to find out what to do with those.

Also, you have to register to download the plans, but doing so is free and painless.

This link goes to a thread at cnczone.com. On that thread there are several dxf files of dinosaurs along with quite a few other creatures. You have to search through the thread to find them all, but there is definitely a lot there. If you find something you like, you can load it into CamBam and use it to generate the toolpaths and then the G-code.

Here is another site which has DXF files of several different creatures. Many of those in the cnczone link above originally came from here I believe. The site was originally in German (at least I think it’s German) but the link to it connects to the Google translated version. It didn’t quite get all the words translated, but that doesn’t really matter.

This website has a large number of amazing looking dxf files that are designed to be cut out with CNC machines. It’s a pretty awesome site with pictures for every design. If you find something you like, you can load it into CamBam and use it to generate the toolpaths and then the G-code.

This website has several different dxf files which can be downloaded for free. They aren’t technically designed for CNC use, but you may find some of them useful for that purpose. If you find something you like, you can load it into CamBam and use it to generate the toolpaths and then the G-code.

This site has an assortment of STL files for CNC machine use. (Go to the download section.) You will need to either use CamBam Plus (the version you have to pay for) or MeshCam (also not free) to generate tool paths for the 3D STL files. There is other software out there that you can use as well, but those two are by far the cheapest. You have to register for a password first to download the STL files, but if you see something you like you should definitely do so.

This page has several DXF files which you may find useful. There is a lot of interesting stuff on this site. Much of it is good for cabinetry or furniture making. If you find something you like, you can load it into CamBam and use it to generate the toolpaths and then the G-code. The link to the home page is http://www.enkeboll.com